Why Product-Market Fit Is Rarer Than You Think - Lessons from Building Gojimo

By George Burgess, Venture Partner at If Capital

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After more than a decade in edtech, from launching Gojimo, the UK’s largest revision app used by 48% of exam takers, to becoming a Venture Partner at If Capital, one idea stands out as commonly misunderstood. That idea is product-market fit. Most founders think they have achieved it. In reality, most have not. And that distinction matters more than they realise.

Why Most Startups Never Get There:

Product-market fit is often discussed casually, as though it is a given. But the truth is that most companies never reach it. They might be able to raise investment, but that is not the same as building a product that is truly pulled by the market.Marc Andreessen explained it clearly when he said, “You can always feel when product/market fit is happening…” He is right. When product-market fit arrives, it becomes obvious. At Gojimo, it took us almost two years of constant improvement before we saw it. But when we did, everything changed. We started trending on app stores, receiving press without asking, and our servers regularly crashed under the weight of traffic.

What Product-Market Fit Feels Like:

The difference between having it and not having it is simple. Without product-market fit, everything feels hard. Growth relies on effort, outbound sales dominate, and progress feels slow. When you do have it, progress becomes natural. Users find you, interest builds, and sales conversations move quickly.

There are many ways people describe it. Sam Altman says it happens when users are so enthusiastic that they tell others without being prompted. Paul Graham puts it more simply: build something people want. Rahul Vohra, founder of Superhuman, created a framework based on one survey question: “How would you feel if you could no longer use the product?” If over 40% of users say they would be very disappointed, it is likely you have found product-market fit.

That is a useful benchmark, but it may not apply to every product. Different tools meet different needs, and expectations vary. Still, all these definitions come back to the same core idea. Your product must solve a real problem, clearly and effectively enough that people talk about it without being asked.

Our Journey at Gojimo:

When we first launched, only six percent of new users completed a quiz on their first visit. Quizzes were the heart of our product, so this was concerning. We focused on this number relentlessly. Over time, we raised it to more than sixty percent. Even then, that improvement on its own did not signal product-market fit.

We kept listening to users, changing the product, and testing ideas. Eventually, the signs became clear. Students were finding us on their own. Journalists started writing about us without any outreach. We saw steady organic growth and more user engagement than ever before. That was the moment we knew.

Advice for Founders:

• Reaching product-market fit takes time. For us, it took nearly two years.

• It cannot be forced. Marketing cannot fix a product that does not meet a genuine need.

• Speak to your users all the time, and track meaningful data.

• Do not assume fundraising means you have product-market fit.

• If you are still asking whether you have it, then you probably do not. When it arrives, you will feel the difference.

Finding product-market fit in edtech is difficult. But when it happens, everything starts to accelerate. Progress feels smoother. Growth becomes easier. Keep testing, stay honest, and stay close to your users. You will know when it starts to work.

George Burgess is a serial entrepreneur, founder, and angel investor. He led Gojimo for seven years before it was acquired by The Telegraph in 2017. He is now a Venture Partner at If Capital and the founder of Modern Day Talent.